Riven
by LastChancetoBreathe
Summary: Rory thought they were after the Doctor.
1. Chapter 1

I have recently become a huge Doctor Who fan...this seems to happen eventually to all BBC lovers. I'm particularly fond of one Rory Williams and it has come to my attention that there isn't that much fanfiction about him. And voila, this story was born. =) As always, no slash, though there is some violence and general strangeness ahead - but you're all Doctor Who fans, so that's to be expected, right? =P This story takes place after all the events of "A Good Man Goes to War." Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who_.

* * *

_Riven - adjective, rent or split apart._

Amy wanted fish and chips.

To be honest, Rory was relieved. After traveling through all of the strange planets and eating things that could just as easily have eaten him, he was ready to get back to normal territory again. Maybe even have a nice cup of tea and sleep in a regular bed once more.

He knew he could never convince the Doctor to go back to England on his own, so he was glad when Amy refused to go to another planet without having some good old English food.

"Humans," the Doctor sighed. "You can be so sentimental over the silliest things."

But he took them home without further complaint.

The sky was cloudy, but bright. Just the sort of day that Rory liked best.

They stepped out of the TARDIS, stretching and enjoying the familiar air of home. It didn't take Amy long to grab them both by the arm and start dragging them off. "Come on! I know the best place to get fish and chips!"

Before they had gone five yards, a young voice called out, "Rory!"

A boy, about twelve years old, came running towards them.

"Benjamin!" Rory let go of his wife's hand and bent down so that he could give the boy a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been?"

"Um...traveling." He glanced at his companions. "This is my friend, the Doctor, and you remember my wife, Amy. This is Benjamin. I used to care for his Dad when he was in the hospital. Speaking of your father, how is he?"

Benjamin's face turned sober. "That's why I've been trying to find you. Dad's been feeling poorly again, but he refuses to go to the doctor. Says he won't see anyone but you. Mum's worried about him now, but you know how stubborn he is."

Rory grimaced. "Yes, I do."

He turned towards Amy and the Doctor. "You all don't mind if I go see him, do you? It shouldn't take too long."

"Of course, go ahead, Dr. Rory," smirked the Doctor.

"I'm a nurse."

"Whatever." Amy pecked him lightly on the cheek. "Go help people."

"Be careful," he murmured back.

"Always." She grabbed the Doctor's hand and pulled him off in the direction of the town.

"I'll meet you back at the TARDIS tonight if I can't find you later!" he called after them.

Amy waved her hand in acknowledgment.

Rory glanced back down at Benjamin. The boy looked worried, staring after the two figures with a dark expression. "Are you alright, Ben?"

"Y-Yes." He snapped back to attention, turning in the opposite direction. "This way."

Rory followed obediently. "So, how's school going? Maths still giving you trouble?"

"It's fine."

He frowned. Benjamin was usually a talkative, outgoing boy, but now he acted as if he was on the run from something, darting anxious glances down every street they passed. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," the boy insisted, but his pace increased. "I'm just worried about Dad, that's all."

Rory decided to leave matters well enough alone.

"And you?" Ben asked abruptly. He shot Rory a suspicious look. "Where have you been? How come you and your friends were in that blue box?"

"Uh, it's just a hobby of ours - inspecting police boxes." Like _that_ was going to convince anybody, especially a smart boy like Ben. "We've just been traveling together, seeing different countries, you know?"

"Right." The boy didn't look the least bit persuaded.

They turned onto Benjamin's street - one that Rory well-recognized after so many trips to the boy's house. Ben's father hated to go to the hospital, more so than the average person, and Rory, in order to make a little extra money as well as to test whether he would enjoy doing house visits, had volunteered to go to the house on a weekly basis. The man suffered from severe arthritis in addition to weak lungs, which made him susceptible to bronchitis and other lung infections. He often had a lingering cough regardless of whether he had an infection or not.

They approached the front door and Rory frowned as he caught sight of the closed blinds on the windows. Ben's mother preferred to keep them open - to "let in the sunlight" - but he knew it was for spying on the neighbors. "Is your mother here now?"

"Yeah, she's with Dad." Benjamin seemed even more on edge now, face stern and grim. But he kept on walking, right up to the door and into the house.

Rory followed.

Almost as soon as he set foot inside the house, he knew something was wrong. He had traveled with the Doctor for far too long not to notice the strangeness in the air - a sort of unnatural silence. "Ben? Where'd you go?"

"Back here, in the living room."

Rory glanced at the open front door. The outside world looked so bright, so inviting. As a precaution, he left the door open and headed towards the living room.

Ben stood next to a man, looking apologetic. Four other people were gathered in the room - two men and two women. It took a split second for Rory to see that they were heavily armed, but before he could make a move, a sixth person came up behind him, wrapped an arm around his chest and rested a gun against the top of his throat."Easy there, chum. No sudden moves."

"I'm sorry, Rory!" Ben wailed. "They had Mum and Dad! I didn't know what else to do!"

"It's alright, Ben, calm down. It's not your fault." Rory was surprised at how calm he was. Maybe hanging out with the Doctor had its advantages. He turned his gaze to the tall man directly in front of him. The broad shoulders, intricate medals on the front of his uniform, and the dark brown eyes that even now were sizing the nurse up seemed to indicate that he was leader. "Who are you and what do you want? You know what, scratch that. Let Ben and his family go first and then we can get down to business."

A thin smile cracked the man's face. "Rory Williams. You aren't quite what I was expecting, but then again, looks are often deceiving."

Rory rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I know. I'm not much to look at. Could we please get to the point of this matter?"

"Right, no beating around the bush then. I like to get straight to business too." The man glanced at Benjamin. "You may go to your family, boy. They're in your parents' bedroom. Thank you for your cooperation."

Ben spared one more teary glance for Rory, before he fled from the room.

"Now, you may not be much to look at, Mr. Williams, as you so eloquently put it, but all of us here know that there's something special about you."

"I'm flattered you think so. My wife is rather fond of me too. Now if you would please let me get back to her, I -" the gun at his throat dug in deeper.

"We wouldn't have gone through all of the trouble to lure you here if we didn't mean business. We would rather you come quietly if you would but we will use force if necessary."

"And here I thought you were being so polite." That earned him another dig with the gun. "Might I ask why you need me?"

"All your questions may be answered in time." The leader gave a sharp nod.

The man behind Rory lowered the gun and took hold of him by his upper arms, pulling him towards the back door. Before they left the room, the leader turned to another man. "Take care of the boy and his family."

That put Rory into motion. A sharp twist broke the hold his captor had on him. Before the man could get another grip on him, he ducked around him and darted for the bedrooms. "Run, Ben! Run!"

A surprisingly strong arm wrapped around his abdomen, pinning his arms to his sides. To his utter shock, Rory found himself picked up and thrown over the leader's shoulder. It wasn't possible for someone to so easily pick up someone of his height and weight. A sinking sensation spread throughout him. "You're aliens."

"Yes, and you're going to pay for that little stunt." The leader was already out of the back door before Rory remembered the reason for his efforts to break away.

"You leave that family alone! Put me down!" Twisting and kicking had absolutely no effect on the humanoid, but that didn't stop him from trying.

The leader finally had enough of his struggling and threw him down. Gravel cut his hands as he tried to keep his head from hitting the ground.

"You know, Rory, I've been watching you for quite a while now. People have a habit of using you and selling you short. They keep taking your heart and ripping it to shreds. Why don't you just do the easy thing now and give up?"

Rory winced as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Obviously you don't know me very well."

A shot rang from inside the building.

"No!" He scrambled up, but before he could even take a step, the leader threw him back over his shoulder. "Let me go! Why must all you blasted aliens go around killing people? Let go!"

He was tossed down again, this time into the back of a strange-looking vehicle. He didn't quite manage not to hit his head and the blow dazed him.

The leader stood silhouetted against the daylight for a moment.

The door shut.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own _Doctor Who_.

* * *

The Doctor watched Amy pace around the TARDIS. She had already checked all of the rooms twice and now, finally satisfied that they were empty, she wore a path around the central consol.

He had to admit that he was worried too. Out of all of the companions that he'd had, Rory was the one most likely to obey the "Do not wander off" rule.

"This is not like him, Doctor," Amy broke her long silence. "It's almost after midnight, and even if Ben's father had significant health issues, Rory would have at least returned and written us a note or something."

"Do you know the address?"

She shook her head. "I remember the street name, but I don't know the house number."

"Well, that's a start." He hopped up to the consol and started spinning dials and punching buttons. "Street?"

"Storey Street."

"Storey Street is it! Here we go!"

Within a few moments, they both stood outside of the TARDIS, frowning at the flashing lights in the distance.

"Police?" Amy's heart started to pound faster. She had a sneaking suspicion, a lingering worry in her mind that now blew up to full-blown panic. She was running before she even realized she had made a decision to move.

"Amy!" The Doctor called. He was already running to catch up with her.

She reached the police tape a second before he did. Three gurneys waited to be loaded onto the ambulances waiting out in front of a small house. She didn't pause, slipping under the tape and heading for the nearest gurney.

A hand caught her arm halfway there.

"Excuse me, miss, but you can't be here. This is a crime scene. I need you to stay behind the tape please." The officer tugged her back.

Amy dug in her heels. "Who was killed?"

The man hesitated.

"Tell me, it's important!"

"A young lad and his parents."

"No one else?"

He gave her a strange look. "No. Did you know these people?"

"No." She shook her head and stumbled back. A small sense of relief set her legs wobbling and she was grateful when she felt the Doctor's arms around her, leading her back behind the tape. She wouldn't have made it back without him. "It's the boy, Doctor, did you hear? It's Benjamin."

"I heard. More importantly, I _saw_. I took a peek at the body while you were talking to the officer. Those wounds weren't made by any human weapon."

"Aliens?" Her deepest fears were confirmed. "They killed the family. They took Rory. They drew him away from us, which means -"

"Which means they wanted him particularly." The Doctor put both of his hands on her shoulders, face solemn. "We'll get him back, Amy, I promise."

It took some effort for her to draw her eyes away from the crime scene and back to her friend's face. When she managed it, she gave a jerky nod. "Of course we will. We always find each other, don't we?"

"Right." The Doctor grinned and began pulling her back in the direction they'd come from. "Let's go back to the TARDIS."

* * *

Rory felt like one gigantic bruise by the time he arrived at whatever location the aliens decided to take him to. The van that they had put him in had no seats, nothing to hang onto, nothing but emptiness to roll around in whenever they came to a sudden stop - which happened way too often to be accidental.

Now the van stopped for longer than a traffic light and he knew that they had reached their destination. He dragged his protesting body over to the doors and crouched next to them.

A low murmur reached his ears, but it was too muffled to make out. The lock on the back door came undone. As soon as he saw a crack of light stream into the van, Rory slammed the door open, sending someone flying as he jumped out of the vehicle and punched the first guy he saw.

Two down. He glanced around with a sinking heart as he realized he was in a gigantic room, filled with humanoids that all had their weapons pointed at him.

_Too many, but they wanted me alive so there's not much chance they will kill me...I hope_. Rory took only a second to realize that he was sorely outnumbered before he took a swing at the next person standing in his way. This time he grabbed the stunned humanoid's weapon and shot three others nearby.

A sharp, burning pain gripped him from head to toe. He dropped his weapon as convulsions shook him.

When the pain finally receded to a point where he could actually think clearly once more, Rory found himself on the ground, staring at the boots of the man who had kidnapped him.

"We really should have expected no less from you, but I'd advise you not to resist anymore. You'll only bring more pain on yourself."

Rory pushed himself up on trembling arms. "If you know me so well then you know that I don't give up that easily."

The man smiled as if he'd expected and rather enjoyed this answer. "Of course not. Take Mr. Williams to his room please."

Two guards grabbed hold of his arms, one on either side. When they hauled him to his feet, Rory was surprised to find that he could no longer stand on his own. Instead, he sagged between his two guards in a rather undignified fashion as they dragged him past all of the other soldiers in the room.

Rory did his best to stay alert as they entered a long, pale blue corridor. There were no lights along the way, but the walls themselves seemed to glow with a soft light. They turned down another hall, this one a light green shade. Though this hall was longer than the other, they still did not stop, nor did they pass any doors. It was all one hallway after another - each with no doors or windows, each a different color. They finally stopped in the middle of a pale yellow hallway.

"You_ would_ have to stop here. I hate yellow," he grumbled. His tongue felt thick and ungainly in his mouth.

The guards did not respond. One of them stepped forward and placed his hand on the wall. Immediately, a panel rose from the smooth surface and slid to one side, revealing a small room with nothing but a bed, a toilet, and a sink - all of them a pale yellow.

Rory wrinkled his nose. "Couldn't I stay in the blue hall?"

Again, there was no response, they simply dragged him into the room and dropped him on the bed. He managed to wiggled around in time to see the panel close, the seams of the doorway disappearing completely.

He was well and truly trapped.

He flopped back onto his pillow. "I hate yellow."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who_.

* * *

The TARDIS needed more detail than the Doctor could provide. Since they had been unable to sneak into the house itself, he had to content himself with trying to describe the wounds that the family received in order to track down the weapons used. The TARDIS told him in no small amount of angry beeps that there was not enough information.

"Oh fine!" He stepped away from the console in frustration. "If you must have it your way, I won't try anymore."

Amy hadn't said a word throughout any of his endeavors. She watched him with worried brown eyes, her legs tucked to her chest. At this final failure of the Doctor's, she piped up, "Can't we just pop back in time before Rory was taken and pick him up?"

The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair. The already rumpled strands were now thoroughly mussed. "If that were an option, you know I would have already tried it. We don't know when Rory was actually captured though and if we land too close to where we were earlier, we'll create a paradox."

"You say that as if you haven't already done that before."

"Paradoxes, no matter how convenient they seem, are best avoided."

"Fine." Amy let her legs drop to the floor with a thump. "Then I'll give you something else to work with. Let's move the TARDIS into the house and poke around."

"What? With all of the police still there?"

"Why not?" She came over to him, footsteps sure. "It's not like it's something we haven't done before. We're good at poking our noses in where they don't belong. Why are you so hesitant when it comes to saving Rory?"

"I'm not hesitant, I'm..." the Doctor paused, his eyes dropping to the floor. "I'm concerned. If these aliens wanted Rory so badly, then they must have a very good reason for taking him. Rory himself, no offense, is not important enough to kidnap."

Amy opened her mouth to protest, but the Doctor held up a finger to stop her.

"Let me finish. If they don't need Rory necessarily, then they must need him as bait for a much larger fish. And who do we all know and love that is very good at upsetting aliens?" He straightened his bow tie.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're afraid?"

"Me? Afraid? How long have you known me? I'm just cautiously approaching this whole situation. I don't like to jump in without knowing exactly I'm getting into."

She quirked an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine! We'll go to the house. Between you and the TARDIS it looks like I don't have much choice."

The familiar noise of the TARDIS started up and Amy ran to the door, ready to face whatever was outside.

* * *

Rory didn't know how he managed to get out of his room, but he wasn't about to question his good fortune. So far he'd made it from the yellow corridor to the purple and was now edging up to the red hall. He could vaguely remember passing through each of these colors and could only hope that he was heading in the right direction.

Here where the red hall began, a dark green hall also branched off to the right. Rory could remember coming down the red hall, but not the dark green. Unfortunately, a small group of guards were standing in the middle of the red hall.

He pressed his back against the purple hall and weighed his options. The guards didn't look like they were going to move any time soon and there was no chance that he would be able to sneak past them.

The green hall was vacant.

He went down the green hall. This hall was shorter than the previous ones he had been down and led to a sapphire blue hall. At the end of this hall was a door. Unlike the rest of the doors in this place, this one had a knob.

Rory slowed as he reached it, unsettled. Something about this entire escape was wrong.

A glance back assured him that no one was following him. He couldn't see any cameras either, but he knew from experience that not seeing something wasn't an indication that it wasn't there.

He stretched out his hand to turn the knob and froze.

A small black line marked his hand.

His pulse surged.

Could the Silence really be _here_ of all places?

That question did not deserve an answer. Of course the Silence could be here. They could be anywhere - that was the whole point of their ability to make their presence forgotten.

Rory let go of the knob and glanced up.

Nothing.

He checked both sides.

Again, nothing.

That left only one option. He turned around.

Four Silence stood there, their faces as emotionless as always. He braced himself for the inevitable, clenching his fists down at his sides.

Nothing happened.

"Look," he started, "if you want to talk and tell me what you want, then do so. Otherwise, go ahead and kill me. I prefer either option to this staring contest we have going on."

"You could run," hissed one of them.

He frowned. "Okay, I admit it, you haven't used that one before. You're advising me to run away? What, through this door?"

His fingers brushed against the knob behind him, but he didn't dare take his eyes off of the creatures. A sort of high-pitched cry, muffled, came through the door. "What's behind this door?"

The Silence did not respond.

The doorknob seemed to burn his fingers. He brought his hands around to the front again. "I think I prefer to stay here, thank you very much. Any door you lot want me to go through can't have anything good behind it."

The Silence reacted, stepping forward, their ugly three-fingered hands extended towards him.

"Sorry Amy," he whispered and clamped his eyes shut.

A shock ran through him - startling, but not painful - and he sat up in bed with a gasp.

Yellow walls greeted his wide eyes. He had not escaped after all.

"Just a nightmare," he breathed as he leaned back against the wall behind his bed. He barely managed to stop his hands from trembling when the panel to his room opened.

A woman in her late forties, slim and dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, came into the room. Behind her, a couple of guards appeared in the doorway.

Rory sat up and swung his legs to the side of the bed.

"Rory Williams," her voice held no inflection. She perused a clipboard in her hands without ever looking at him.

"Yes, and you are?"

Her stern grey eyes rose to meet his. "You may call me Ava."

He smirked. "And I'm guessing that's not your real name."

"I hope you have rested well, Mr. Williams, we have much to do today. It would expedite the process if you came along willingly, but Chester and Wendell here are more than willing to carry you should the need arise." She walked out of the room without another word.

Rory eyed the two guards. He was taller than one of them, but they were clearly more than a match for him in the muscle department. While resisting could be fun, at the moment it didn't seem like there was much point to it. _Might as well see what they're up to before I start throwing punches._

He stood up and pushed past the guards into the hall.

Ava waited there, still meticulously studying her clipboard. The guards fell into place on either side of him.

The woman started walking down the hall. "This way."

"Are you the one in charge here?" He figured he might as well get some answers as he was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

She didn't respond.

"Okay, who is then?"

Still no response.

"Look, you could at least give me some answers. You're the ones who kidnapped me after all. And I might as well let you know now that the Doctor doesn't take kindly to his friends being kidnapped - or, at least, the husbands of his friends getting kidnapped. And Amy's one heck of a good shot."

The woman stopped. He and the guards did too.

"Mr. Williams, asking questions will get you nowhere. I advise you to keep your silence. As for your wife and the Doctor, you may as well forget about them. The best thing you can do right now is cooperate."

He stared down at her. He couldn't quite decide whether he should be frightened or laugh or stage a resistance right here and now just to show that he could. He settled on anger. "I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not just going to lie down and take whatever you've dished up. I may not look like much, but I've seen things that you could never dream of and you're going to need more than a group of scientists and your pet alien guards to keep me here."

Ava smiled for the first time. It was not a pretty smile. "Oh, we know, Mr. Williams, we know."


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own _Doctor Who_.

* * *

Amy stepped out of the TARDIS into Ben's bedroom. A few baseball posters, some band memorabilia, and a couple of other random pictures of Ben and his family decorated the walls. The bed was an unmade mess and several pairs of muddy shoes littered the floor. She wrinkled her nose. "Boys are so messy."

"Ha!" The Doctor came out behind her. "I could say the same thing about girls. The human race as a whole is a rather dirty lot."

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "This coming from a timelord who keeps whole decades of junk in his pockets."

The Doctor looked offended. "It is not junk! Besides, it's in my pockets, which means you can't see it - so at least my mess doesn't inconvenience anyone else."

"Fine, I'm not here to argue with you about clutter." She walked further into the room, carefully stepping over all of the shoes. Before she made it halfway across the room, the bedroom door flew open.

Several police officers spilled into the area, their guns trained on her and the Doctor. "Freeze! Put your hands in the air!"

Amy grimaced as she obeyed. Maybe teleporting to a crime scene wasn't the brightest idea she'd had.

The head police officer squinted at them in grim surprise. "Who are you and how did you get in here?"

His eyes shifted a bit to the left, where the TARDIS was parked. "And what is _that_?"

The Doctor took a step forward.

All guns shifted to him. "Don't move!"

He froze and gave them his most charming smile. "To answer your questions, I'm the Doctor, this is Amy, that is the TARDIS - also how we got in here - and we're here to help. Any more questions?"

Amy shot him an incredulous glance over her shoulder. He couldn't even think of a half-decent cover story?

The police officer did not look satisfied. "You are in the middle of a crime scene - a crime scene that was only discovered a little less than an hour ago - you don't have a reasonable explanation for your presence and you don't find that the least bit suspicious?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Not really. I do it all the time. Besides, I know you found wounds on the bodies that you can't explain, but I probably can, so you should let me help."

The man half-lowered his gun. "Who are you?"

"He's the Doctor. Lower your weapons, I know this man." A woman pushed her way to the front. She was small and dark, but her smile was unforgettable. "Doctor, it's been awhile...you've changed."

"Martha Jones! What are you doing here?" He stepped forward and gave her a hug.

"Like you said, the wounds on the body are strange, probably caused by something outside our world. They called in a UNIT task force and, you know me, I couldn't resist coming myself. But what are you doing here?"

Amy decided that now was as good a time as any to make her presence known. "My husband managed to get himself kidnapped."

Martha's gaze shifted to her. "And you are?"

"Ah! This is Amy Pond. Amy, this is Martha Jones. Amy's lost her Rory again and it's imperative that we find him or peace will forevermore be shattered on the TARDIS," the Doctor explained.

Martha quirked an eyebrow. "Traveling with married ones now, that's new." She extended a hand to Amy. "I used to travel with him. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh." Amy couldn't think of anything more intelligent to say, but she managed to collect herself enough to shake the woman's hand.

The next second, Martha was all business. "Now, what makes you think aliens kidnapped her husband?"

The Doctor started talking.

* * *

Rory entered a white room with nothing in it except for a chair. Ava and her guards stepped in after him. The man who kidnapped him appeared on the other side of the room, entering through a sliding panel door.

"Agent Cartwell," Ava acknowledged.

"Ava." He bowed his head a bit. "I've been sent to help you in whatever capacity you need me."

Rory shuddered when the alien directed his smile at him.

Ava caught the gesture as well. "Thank you for coming, but I believe Mr. Williams has come to the conclusion that resistance will not aid him."

"Don't mistake my cooperation for submission," Rory snapped.

"What else would we take it for? Please don't tell me you're creating a one man army resistance."

"Was that a joke, Ava? How long did it take you to come up with that one?"

The woman's slight smile disappeared with that comment and she jerked her head towards the two guards. "Gentlemen, if you don't mind, I believe we've wasted enough time here."

Rory didn't have a chance to escape. The guards each grabbed one of his arms and dragged him towards the chair. He kicked out, but his blows barely slowed them down and as they forced him to sit in the chair, Agent Cartwell stepped in front of him and held down his legs.

Ava pushed a button and restraints rose out of the chair itself and slid around his wrists, elbows, thighs, and ankles. All of the aliens stepped back.

Rory jerked at his restraints experimentally, but he hardly managed to do more than wiggle. "Now what?"

They no longer paid any attention to him. The two guards left the room while Ava went over to a section of the wall and placed her hand on a small square. The square lit up and a computer screen appeared in front of her. She started typing.

Agent Cartwell walked over to another section of the room and retrieved a strange-looking metal contraption. As he came back to the chair, Rory saw that it consisted of one large metal circle with two smaller prongs protruding from the edges.

Cartwell grabbed Rory's chin. "Hold still, will you?"

The nurse stiffened and tried to jerk free, but the alien's fingers clamped down around his jaw like a vice. Cartwell easily slid the metal circle over Rory's head and secured it across his forehead. The two metal prongs ran along his temples. "Please don't tell me you're turning me into a Cyberman. I really thought you lot were a little more creative than that."

Again they did not merit him with a response.

Ava came over and tapped the center of the metal band. The circle tightened around his head and he felt rather than saw several more thin metal strands come out and begin to crawl down his cheeks and jaw and over his hair, connecting themselves somewhere behind him to the back of the chair. By the time they finished, most of his face was encased in a thin metal mask. His eyes were left free and he could still move his jaw a little, but the whole contraption was decidedly uncomfortable. Talking was rather more difficult too, but he managed. "What's the point of all of this?"

Ava finally turned an exasperated eye on him. "Mr. Williams, I never thought you were a talkative man, but you're beginning to prove me wrong. A little holding of the tongue would not be amiss."

Anger flared up hot in Rory and if he wasn't so thoroughly restrained, he would have jumped up and punched Agent Cartwell. Punching a woman was still strictly off limits for him. "It's my head, it's my body that you've got strapped up, I have a right to ask questions, particularly since it's the only thing I _can_ do."

"That's where you're mistaken, Mr. Williams. Your body is now our property. You might as well resign yourself to that fact. We're ready, Agent Cartwell." Ava strode to the door and out of the room.

Agent Cartwell adjusted a few of the metal prongs on Rory's face and gave him a grim little smile. "Sit tight. You're going to be here for a long time."

Rory scowled. "I don't think so."

The alien shrugged and left without another word. The panel closed behind him and the nurse was left alone in an utterly white room. "You should have stayed in school, Rory, become a doctor. A _real_ doctor. But no, you had to go on the TARDIS and now look where that got you."

He blinked.

He ran.

The forest path stretched out in front of him, overrun with roots and brambles, but despite the difficult footing, he kept going. If he stopped it would be much worse.

What was chasing him?

He couldn't remember and the thought sent a surge of panic through him. The last time he'd run from something he couldn't remember, he'd been shot on top of a dam.

The path headed towards a cave that he could barely make out in the distance. The sight sent a burst of energy through his tired limbs. If he could make it to the cave, maybe he'd have a chance. He had to get to safety so he could find Amy.

His boots hit stone. He was in the cave. The light was dimmer, but he could still see far enough ahead to realize that it wasn't a deep cave.

A door, carved in stone, waited for him.

Something at the brink of his subconscious nagged at him. Whispers, snatches of places, people, conversations he had long forgotten drifted past him. The impressions got stronger the closer he got to the door and for a moment he forgot he was being chased.

Only for a moment.

He turned.

The cave's entrance was filled with Silence.

"What do you want? Why do you keep chasing me?"

"We don't want _you_," a woman laughed.

His eyes flashed to the side. The woman with the eye patch stood there, smiling smugly at him. "Then why are you chasing me?"

"Can't leave any loose ends, can we? Your part is done, Mr. Williams, we only need your wife now. You can die, knowing you are just as useless as you think you are."

The words cut deep, but he ignored their sting. "You leave my wife alone."

"Finish him," she said.

Rory backed up, his fingers brushing against the stone door. The whispers grew stronger. The Silence lifted their hands. The door gave a little at the pressure of his fingertips, but he couldn't escape the utter feeling of _wrongness_ at trying to open that door. He withdrew his hand from it.

A flash of light from the Silence.

He caught a glimpse of a white room.

Heard a voice say, "Not going to work -"

He slept.

* * *

And now Martha's here! Little confession to make, I love Martha. She's pretty awesome. But if you don't like her, don't worry, she won't play a prominent part here. =)


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own _Doctor Who_.

* * *

UNIT's facility was huge. Amy kept her eyes wide-open as Martha led them through the labyrinth of her workplace. After they'd convinced the police force that they were not, in fact, hostile, the Doctor and Amy were allowed to accompany UNIT and the bodies back to headquarters where they would be able to help identify what caused the wounds.

Martha kept up a chipper tone as she explained the layout. "We keep our morgue on the third level underground as it is cooler and less accessible to people who may want to tamper with evidence. Only people with badges of a certain clearance are allowed in there."

"And, of course, you're one of those people," said the Doctor.

"Of course," she grinned. "Sometimes I do double duty and perform autopsies. It's not really my line of work, but even I can't resist curious cases like this one."

"I bet." The Doctor had a strange, wistful expression on his face that Amy had never seen before - a sort of nostalgic look. "And how's Mickey?"

Another bright, kilowatt smile lit up Martha's face. "He's doing great. We've finally worked out a schedule where both of us can be home most nights and that's added some much-needed stability to our marriage. Plus, we occasionally get to work together on the field and that's always enjoyable. He's over at Torchwood today, helping Jack with something. You should stick around here for a little while when we wrap this up - we'd all love to catch up with you."

"Hmm, maybe."

Amy had her arms crossed now. She hated being out of the loop and it had never occurred to her that there were other people out there who had just as many amazing adventures with the Doctor as she did. Now she couldn't help but think that all of those times when the Doctor was late, he was really just catching up with other old friends.

It hit her then. She suddenly understood Rory's perspective of the Doctor when the alien came back and swept her away on the night before her wedding. He'd always been so faithful to play along with her games and even dress up as the Doctor, but when he realized it was all real, when he saw how enchanted she was with the Doctor, there had been an unmistakable expression of pain on his face.

She had always thought he just being jealous and petty, but now she could see what it meant to take the back burner to another companion of the Doctor's. _Oh Rory, I cause you nothing but pain and still you're loyal to me. I'm so sorry. Please be alright. I'm coming for you. _

"Amy?"

She blinked.

Martha and the Doctor were several yards in front of her, about to open one of the doors. She hadn't realized she'd stopped walking until that moment. She jogged to catch up with them. "Yes, sorry, coming."

Martha slid her id through a scanner and the door opened, leading them into a room with several metal tables in it. Three of the tables had bodies covered with white sheets on them.

Amy wrinkled her nose at the smell. "You know what? I'm not really good with the whole dead body autopsy thing. I think I will wait outside if that's alright with you?"

The Doctor waved her out, already pulling back one of the sheets, his screwdriver ready in the other hand.

_You'd better not end up like them, Rory, _she thought as she exited the room. _You've died enough, don't make this time the one that counts._

* * *

Rory had been left alone in the white room for hours. Occasionally he drifted off to sleep since there was nothing else to do, but every time he did so, he had strange dreams about the Silence and the locked door. Each time he felt pressured to open the door and each time he resisted.

It was like Pandora's box all over again. He didn't know what was behind that door, but he was certain it was nothing good.

Then again, it was just a dream...wasn't it?

Perhaps at one time, he would have thought so. But all those months running from the Silence and then ending up at Demon's Run caused him to second guess everything that seemed real.

The panel door slid open. Ava stepped in, looking a little more frazzled than she had when he first met her.

"Rough day?" He asked.

She stopped a few feet in front of him, her clipboard still firmly clasped in her hands. "You're not afraid of much, are you, Mr. Williams?"

Rory allowed himself a small smile, remembering a similar conversation with the Doctor in that wacky hotel with the minotaur. "When you've traveled through space and time, you learn the things that you once feared are not quite as scary as you thought and death is less painful than you imagined."

"Yes, you've died several times before, haven't you? But only one time really counted, correct?"

Rory frowned. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"Oh, I think you do," Ava paused. Her fingers drummed lightly on the back of her clipboard. After a moment, she seemed to come to a decision and turned her attention to one of the blank walls. "I don't think stage one is going to work with this one. Not this time. I suggest we move on to stage two."

"Stage two? What's stage two? For that matter, what was stage one?" Rory's heart rate increased and he could feel sweat starting to make his hands clammy.

Another small panel opened and revealed a handgun. As Ava picked it up, Rory could well-understand the Doctor's hatred for weapons. The woman walked back over to the entrance. "We'll start with some basic pain tolerance."

"Pain tolerance?" He didn't like the sound of that.

She paused at the door, turned, and shot him in the shoulder.

He was too surprised to even cry out. For a moment or two, he didn't even feel the pain. But as hot blood began to soak through his shirt, he felt sharp tendrils sink into his body like a vice. A gasp escaped him. He turned watery eyes to the woman. "I...don't understand...why?"

Ava left the room.

"I hate it when she does that." Rory pressed his head back against the chair, trying to block out the sensation of heat and deep-searing pain radiating from his shoulder. "You've been shot before. You can handle this."

Except last time, he'd died and the pain was over. It didn't seem like these people had any inclination to follow that particular pattern this time.

_They didn't even ask me anything. What are they after?_

The Silurian commander sank her knife into his shoulder and twisted. "Vermin, did you really think you could kill my sister and just get away with it?"

"I...I didn't...kill her!" Rory gasped. White stars burst in his vision as the weapon jerked free from his body.

"You are a liar, born from a race of liars, and I won't let your presence continue to plague this planet." She crossed the room and retrieved her gun.

It was then that Rory realized he was untied. He pressed a hand to his aching shoulder and ran, avoiding the blast from the Silurian's weapon just in time.

She screeched and gave chase.

The path he ran along led out to the main square of the Silurian city. He scrambled down one of the banks and reached the streets, darting past several empty Silurian houses.

He saw it then. The door. The same stone one that had been haunting him since - when _did_ that door start appearing?

Rory slowed to a halt a few feet in front of the door. For a moment, he was able to forget the burning pain in his shoulder. An irresistible urge brought him those last few steps to the door. His fingers brushed against the stone.

A strange humming filled the air.

"What are you?" He whispered.

"Vermin!"

He whirled.

The Silurian guard had found him, her gun leveled at his chest. "I dare you to open that door. Just try and see how far you make it!"

"What's behind it?"

She hissed and shot him - right in his wounded shoulder.

Rory screamed, falling back against the door. The humming grew louder, more anxious. It seemed that, if he could just open the door, step through, he could escape from all of this pain.

But something held him back, a whisper of danger lurking behind the door.

He turned his gaze back to the Silurian. "Go ahead. Shoot."

She didn't need any more encouragement.

His shoulder still ached. The white room came back into focus.

A woman's voice. "It's not enough."

Pain enveloped his senses.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own _Doctor Who_.

* * *

Rory wasn't entirely certain what the woman injected into him. He barely regained consciousness in time to find that they had stripped him of his shirt and now strange red tendrils crept around his side. The larger it grew, the more it looked like a bad burn.

Unfortunately, that's precisely what it felt like too.

His interest was piqued as a nurse, but he could find nothing in the dusty catalogues of his training that looked similar to this. He could feel sweat trickling down his neck as he tried to keep from crying out.

The most puzzling thing about the whole situation was that they had yet to ask him any questions. If they were after the Doctor, surely they would have wanted to know something by now. Or, perhaps they had set up some sort of psychic link with the Doctor through the metal contraption around his head and his pain was broadcasted to the alien.

That seemed logical - if you ignored the fact that they hadn't started hurting him until phase two. Whatever phase two was.

He started to feel dizzy from the blood loss. Even now, his shoulder still leaked sluggishly. And now the burn hurt enough to make him want to throw up - except he hadn't eaten anything.

How long had he been here? A day? Two days? A week?

An unpleasant realization crossed his mind. He had no doubt the Doctor would come to rescue him - Amy would give him no peace until he did. But the alien wasn't well-known for his ability to arrive on time.

He could be here in a month, two months, even - Rory shot down that train of thought before he could start panicking.

The panel slid open. Instead of Ava, Agent Cartwell stepped inside this time. "Mr. Williams, how are you?"

Rory grimaced. "Don't pretend like you care. Not when you're the ones who have put something in me that seems to be eating me from the inside out."

"Don't worry, your internal organs are fine." The man walked over to him. His fingers trailed over the burned area, igniting hot white pain through the nerve endings. "This is all on the surface of your skin."

"Fantastic," Rory groaned. "You have no...idea...how encouraging...that is."

Cartwell gave him a thin smile. "Tell me, Mr. Williams, have you ever been stabbed?"

The nurse couldn't help the way his heart rate surged at the words. His eyes darted over the humanoid's frame, searching for weapons that might soon find a home in his body. He saw nothing, but that did little to assure him. "Could you at least tell me why you are doing all of this? Do you want information? Are you trying to see how long a human can hold out under torture - because, I assure you, you picked a poor candidate. I'm just a nurse."

"Then as a nurse, you can appreciate how much blood you have lost...and how receiving a stab wound to your femoral artery would bring about your instant death." Agent Cartwell stopped behind his chair as he said this, his voice dropping lower.

Rory swallowed, the pain from his injuries nearly forgotten now.

The humanoid stepped briskly towards the door. "Good thing for you that we know how to stab without causing serious blood loss."

That was all the warning Rory got before something sharp stabbed up through his chair into his leg.

He cried out. His eyes squeezed shut, lashes heavy with tears. The pain drew his attention away from his other wounds and focused on a point a few inches above his knee.

He tilted his head forward and strived to see through blurred vision. A sharp, thin metal point stuck up through his leg. It began to retract slowly, leaving a small fountain of blood to spill over his jeans.

The restraints around his limbs, the metal trapping his face, were all too much. He jerked on his bonds. A despairing little sob broke from him when they hardly moved an inch. "What do you want from me? If you're after the Doctor, I'm not the best person to get. I don't know much and I don't understand why you are doing this."

The silence was expected.

He sagged in his chair, feeling drained and weak. "Come and find me, Doctor."

* * *

Amy jumped as the door to the morgue flew open. The Doctor emerged, triumphantly holding his screwdriver aloft. Martha was right on his heels, a less exuberant but still excited smile on her face.

Amy slowly stood from where she'd been sitting in the hall waiting for them. "I take it you found something."

"Oh boy did we find something! It's beautiful, that's what it is! All the shades of brilliant you could imagine." The Doctor began to walk in a large circle, staring at his screwdriver with a dazed smile, as if it held all of the secrets of the universe.

Amy glanced at Martha.

She shrugged. "I have no idea. He got so excited, he ran out of the room without telling me anything."

The redhead rolled her eyes and grabbed the Doctor's arm when his circling brought him close to her. "What is it, Doctor? What did you find? Do you know who took Rory?"

"Yes, Amelia Pond." He tapped her nose. "And you're going to love this."

"I rather doubt I could be fond of anything that took my husband from me."

He frowned. "Oh don't be such a spoilsport. You needn't worry about Roranicus - he's been taken by the Eronians."

Amy's eyes slid to Martha again. The woman was forced to acknowledge her ignorance with another shrug and shake of her head.

Amy grabbed the Doctor by his shoulders and forced him to look her in the eyes. "You're not making much sense...again. Who are the Eronians and why shouldn't I worry that they have Rory?"

"They're empaths! They like to break into people's minds!"

"And this is supposed to relieve me?"

"Of course! They won't hurt him - they won't need to. They can simply read whatever thoughts they want to know about and voila! They're done."

The thought that at least her husband was not experiencing torture did give her a small measure of relief, but it also raised a dozen other questions in her mind. "So what do they want him for? What information are they trying to get out of him?"

"Now you're asking the right questions." The Doctor shook free of her hands so that he could have the freedom to pace. "The boy they used, the Benjamin one, was right there when we came out of the TARDIS. That means that he'd been told to look for a blue police box. Who tells someone to look for a police box? Someone who is looking for me, that's who. So they're after me, but they settled for Rory. The question is - _why_?"

Amy frowned. "No, the question is why did Ben only ask for Rory? He didn't even give you a second glance. If they really wanted you, they could have lured us all to Ben's house."

"Nuance," the Doctor shrugged.

Martha stepped forward at that point. "No, she's got a point. It doesn't make sense to take him when you were there all along. Plus, they've made no attempt to contact you for a hostage exchange or anything like that."

"Exactly!" Amy was beginning to warm up to this woman.

The Doctor glanced between them, the cogs in his mind finally catching up to their claim that there was a discrepancy. "I suppose that doesn't make much sense. Eronians aren't like you lot. They're smart."

Both Amy and Martha gave him glare that had him throwing his hands in the air. "I didn't mean you two specifically, I just meant the human race as a whole and I'll just stop talking right now because I can tell by the looks on your faces that I'm only making this worse. Why do _you_ think the Eronians want him, Martha Jones?"

"Me?" The woman pointed to herself.

"Yes, you, unless there happens to be another Martha Jones in this room - which has happened before - but I don't think that's the case now."

"I forgot how much you babble when you're excited." Martha turned to Amy as the Doctor sputtered protests. "Is there anything special about your husband? And I mean anything unusual, because I know every person is important in some way, but is anything especially significant about Rory?"

Amy thought of all of the things she could say about her brave, beautiful husband. But the thing that came out of her mouth was, "He has an uncanny ability to die and come back to life."

Martha's brow furrowed. "What?"

"It all started when he was a Roman."

"_What_?"

This was going to take a while.

* * *

Rory sat against the door this time, too exhausted and in too much pain to do anything else. The whispers were stronger this time, but still not clear enough for him to understand.

At least this time he wasn't being chased.

Instead, Jennifer, the girl from the flesh factory, sat next to him. They both stared out at the countryside in front of them, their backs pressed firmly against the door.

Another ripple of pain seared through him, enough to make him gasp. "Do you know what's behind this door?"

Jennifer did not look at him, but a small smile creased her lips. "I've heard it opens to a world without pain."

Rory snorted. "Right. What are the whispers for then?"

This time she did look at him. "Whispers? What whispers?"

"You can't hear them? Hmm...they keep talking to me. I can't understand them, but it's almost like they want me to open the door."

"Maybe you should listen to them."

Rory rocked his head from side to side. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure. Call it a strange instinct of mine, but I've kind of got a sixth sense for noting when things aren't as they appear. And something is familiar about this door. Something tells me it's sealed for a reason and I don't particularly want to know what that reason is."

Another ripple of pain, stronger this time.

"But it's getting harder to resist," he murmured.

He didn't see Jennifer's smile widen.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own _Doctor Who_.

And another little warning: I've never seen Torchwood, anything I know about that show is from Doctor Who, so if I'm wildly inaccurate on certain aspects of Torchwood, please forgive me. =)

* * *

When Rory came to again in the white room, someone had removed his shirt. A man he had never seen before was cleaning his shoulder wound and dressing it with bandages.

"I do hope you brought an IV for a blood transfusion," the slur in his voice caught him off guard.

The man didn't look up from his task. "No. I am only to prevent infection from setting in. You may have lost a lot of blood, but you can survive."

Rory chuckled. "Not if they keep stabbing me."

"No need to worry about that, Mr. Williams. You will not receive much more bodily harm." Ava clicked into the room, her black stilettos making her a good three inches taller. She walked over to one of the walls and began to type something into one of the panels.

"You have no idea how comforting that is," he remarked, blinking as the doctor pulled away from him. A lethargic glance down assured him that the wound was properly dressed, but the burn mark he'd received was still as large and angry as ever. His pant leg was stained with blood but his wound appeared to have stopped bleeding. "Any chance I can get some burn cream?"

"No, Mr. Williams, I assure you that your wounds are not life-threatening and keeping you in this state is quite amenable to our project."

"So I'm a project now? Why am I the lucky winner?" It was harder to talk today. The combination of blood loss and lack of nutrition made it difficult to concentrate. "Why can't you just tell me what you want?"

Ava clicked over to him and rested her hands on his forearms, peering into his face.

He tried his best not to flinch at her touch.

"Mr. Williams, as I told you earlier, it is best that you simply cooperate with us."

"Cooperate?! I don't even know what you're doing! You keep poking me for your good pleasure and you have yet to give me a good reason!"

A slow smile spread across her lips. "He's ready for stage three."

He really hated that smile.

* * *

Captain Jack Harkness sat back in his chair. The screens in front of him registered a low form of alien activity, but as of yet, he had been unable to find out exactly what was causing the activity or where it was coming from.

Gwen and Ianto were doing their best to help him by investigating spikes of rift activity in the surrounding area. So far nothing they had found matched the signals they received.

"Jack! I think I may have a breakthrough!" Mickey burst into the room, holding a cell phone in one hand. He shook the item in front of Jack's face. "Martha just called."

"And how is the lovely -"

"Not now. The Doctor is back."

That made Jack sit up. "Really? When did he arrive?"

"Sometime yesterday. Apparently one of his companions was kidnapped by empaths, or Eronians, as he called them. Martha thinks that may explain the activity we've been monitoring. Empaths could trigger alerts in our system without being strong enough to trace."

Jack smiled wide. "But now that we know what we're hunting, we can narrow down our search."

He whirled around in his chair and began typing commands. "You said one of his companions was kidnapped?"

"Yeah, apparently he's traveling with a couple now - the husband was taken."

"Married ones, eh?"

Mickey hit him on the head with his cell phone. "Yeah and don't you forget it."

"No need to get violent. Tell your wife we're working on getting a trace and we'll contact her as soon as we have anything."

* * *

"Excellent!" The Doctor rubbed his hands together as Martha conveyed Mickey's message. "Good ol' Jack, I knew I could count on him. Now if only I could convince him to work without all of the guns."

"Good luck with that." Martha slipped her phone into her pocket. "I'll keep this with me, but I have to get back to work. Unfortunately, your empaths aren't the only thing on our plate right now."

"What else do you have?"

She smiled at him wryly. "Well, I suppose you could help us identify some alien tech that we've collected."

"Brilliant! Pond, you in?"

Amy looked up from where she had been twisting her wedding ring around her finger. "What?"

"Alien tech. Want to come?"

"I don't know, Doctor. I think I've seen enough alien tech for one day."

The Doctor's enthusiasm dimmed a bit. He walked over and crouched in front of her. He held out his hands.

She slipped hers into his with a small smile.

"We'll get him back, Pond, I promise."

"I know. I just can't shake the feeling that something dreadful is happening to him."

* * *

Rory let the little fingers wrap around his thumb. His child had a surprisingly strong grip. Or maybe not so surprisingly - Amy _was_ her mother after all. The infant wailed a bit when he first picked her up, his armor cold against her skin. But once he got the blanket secured around her, she calmed down and examined him with large, unblinking eyes.

"Hi there," he said, for lack of anything better.

A small wrinkle of a smile crossed those pink lips.

He smiled back. "So beautiful - just like I knew you would be. You'll have to forgive me, but I wasn't expecting to be a father. I mean, well, I was, but not all of the sudden. I thought I'd have nine months or so to prepare to, you know, welcome you. But I guess it doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're here, safe and alive. Your mother will be wanting to know I have you."

He started walking towards the medical bay where they kept Amy. His daughter's little fist beat against his armor as she cooed her delight in being rescued - or, at least, that's what he liked to imagine her thinking. "I'm sorry your introduction to the world came on a different planet. It's not even a planet really, more of a giant space station. I'm not even entirely certain what year it is. You could be older than me for all I know. I may not even technically exist yet."

That thought sent his head spinning. "But let's not think about all of those technicalities right now. We'll get you home. Leadworth isn't much, but we can have a good life there."

His daughter listened to him with such rapt attention that he almost felt uncomfortable under her stare.

"I'm sure Amy's going to have you in heeled boots before you're three, but I'll make sure she doesn't get too carried away. And I'm sure the Doctor will visit often - no traveling with him until you're older, at least twelve years old, okay? I don't want my child getting kidnapped by Daleks or trying to outrun Sontarans before she's learned to ride a bicycle."

The baby cooed again and rapped her fist against his armor.

"Yeah, I know, I don't normally look like this - it was the Doctor's idea."

She gurgled.

"Sorry, I talk too much when I'm nervous. I've been babbling my head off since I found you. I just - I - I'm excited and...I can't believe you're actually here and you're mine."

"Actually, Mr. Williams, she's ours."

He recognized the woman's voice. He whirled, clutching his daughter protectively against his chest, and faced the woman with the eye patch. "You stay away from her."

"It's a little too late for that," she said with a cold smile.

And Rory held nothing but wet blankets where his daughter had been. "What have you done? Where is she?!"

The woman laughed, walking down the hall and vanishing behind a door.

Rory rushed to the door and found that it had no handle. He pounded on it, over and over, until his knuckles bled. "Give her back! You can't take her from me!"

Cracks appeared on the door.

He paused. Something inside him reminded him that he had already experienced this - that the agony and bitter disappointment he felt were not new. He had lost his daughter before. Her name was -

"Melody," escaped his lips and he stumbled back from the door in shock. Melody was River. River was alive, married to the Doctor...then what? What was going on here?

That's when the whispers reached him, stronger now that the door was cracked.

_What sort of miracle of the gods are you, that you need neither food, drink, nor sleep? _

_You will back away from the box! Nothing shall stop the rise of the Empire!_

_I will throw you into the dungeon if you will not hand the cube over to me. _

_The bombs will crush you if you do not seek shelter and who will guard the - _

"Pandorica." Rory backed away from the door quickly now. "These are my memories. The ones I've locked away."

He spun around the corridor, trying to look for a way out of this dream. He settled for yelling, "I know what you're after now! You know I'm the Lone Centurion. But now that I know what all of this is for, don't think for a second I'm going to open that door. It was sealed for a reason. You cannot make me open it!"

He jerked awake in the white room.

Ava smiled at him. "Oh, I think you'll find that we can."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who_.

Sorry for the delay, long work hours. =) And good heavens, I think I've written something sappy...*headdesk*

* * *

"What do you even want my memories for?" Rory watched as Ava adjusted a few settings on one of the panels. "I can assure you that there is not much in them but tedium, pain, and suffering."

She did not respond.

Agent Cartwell came into the room, holding a bowl and spoon. He stopped in front of Rory. "Open up."

"Do you honestly think I am going to eat anything that you give me?"

The man shrugged. "It's up to you. Do you think you can last much longer without food?"

The nurse fell silent. A mental catalogue of his body told him Cartwell was right. His limbs already trembled from lack of nutrition and he knew if he didn't eat, shock would set in. There would be no chance to escape if that happened. He reluctantly opened his mouth.

Agent Cartwell stuck a spoonful of rather unappetizing glob into his mouth.

"That's like oatmeal without all of the flavor," he commented after he swallowed.

The man snickered and stuffed another spoonful into his mouth.

"It will keep you alive for the time being." Ava clicked over to his chair and adjusted some of the wires around his head. "Do you even know who we are?"

The glop stuck to the roof of his mouth, so his reply came out muffled, "I'm wot an expert in sadithik, awien species."

"We're empaths, Mr. Williams, powerful empaths. We can take your emotions - from the most innocuous to the most violent - and amplify them until they are nearly unbearable."

Rory gave a wry smile. "But you can't even use the pain of losing my daughter to make me open that door."

"I wouldn't say that. We're closer than we ever were before. We're wearing you down, Mr. Williams, and soon, you will give in. You will let down your barriers and let us in."

The glob settled in Rory's stomach like a lump of lead. He couldn't deny that his thoughts were fracturing. The barrier that he'd so carefully built around his memories was starting to crumble. He wasn't entirely certain what would happen if they gave way, but he was sure it wouldn't be anything good. "I think we'll both regret it when that happens."

Ava turned to him and, for once, her eyes were soft. "Why do you keep them locked away anyway? Surely such knowledge would be helpful? I mean, technically, you're older than the Doctor."

"Yes, exactly! But he's an alien, a timelord, he's used to having all of those memories in his head. I'm just a human. We weren't meant to live so long. I've lived through hundreds of generations of men where one lifetime has enough pain, love, hate, and sorrow to kill a man. Breaking into those memories is not a good idea - for either of us. Please let me go."

Agent Cartwell, at least, looked like he was listening. He held his bowl of glop and stared at it guiltily.

Ava, on the other hand, lost the gentleness in her eyes. The stern set of her jaw assured Rory that there would be no changing her mind. "I am not interested in what you think the consequences will be, Mr. Williams. If you will not cooperate with us, then I'm afraid we have no choice but to move to stage four."

Cartwell glanced between the two of them. "I haven't finished feeding him yet."

"Doesn't matter, take that away." She waved him out of the room.

"Why won't you listen to me?!" Rory jerked uselessly at his restraints. All that his struggles accomplished was reopening the wound on his shoulder. He could feel the blood seeping through the bandages.

Ava leaned in close, her nose inches from his. "We need those memories and nothing you can say or do will convince me to abandon my pursuit."

"You're making a mistake."

"Don't worry, Mr. Williams, I think you'll enjoy stage four."

He blinked.

Amy stood there - smiling and looking just as beautiful as when he'd last seen her. He had to force himself to look away from her, remind himself that she was not real.

They were in a park - one that Rory couldn't put a name to. But the warmth of the sun on his skin was a welcome change. They neared a bridge over a small creek and Amy's hand slipped into his. Her fingers felt the same - still thin, long, and warm.

_It's not real. It's not real._

"Rory?" The lilt in her voice was tinged with concern. "Are you alright? You're quieter than usual."

He made the mistake of looking up to tell her that she was an illusion. One glimpse of her face made him forget what he was going to say.

Amy's eyes softened with worry. The brown took on a warmer hue whenever she was concerned and this time was no exception. "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering her, he stopped walking and pulled her closer to him, burying his nose in her hair. Even her scent was familiar. All of the proportions of her body were correct. Every curve, every line exactly where they should be.

Her voice came out muffled from where he had her face pressed against his shoulder, "Rory? What's the matter? You're starting to scare me."

"I'm starting to scare me too." His eyes burned traitorously. "I'm beginning not to be able to tell the difference."

Now she pulled back from his embrace so that she could look at him. "Tell the difference between what?"

"You're not real, but I so want you to be. If I give in, if I love you, they'll get what they want."

"Rory, what are you talking about? Of course I'm real. I'm your wife!"

"You're a figment of my imagination that they are using to get information from me." He closed his eyes, unable to bear the hurt on her face.

"Who are they? I don't understand. I'm real."

Those long, beautiful fingers came to rest on either side of his face. He opened his eyes again and stared into the worried face of his wife. "I miss you."

Her eyes glistened with tears. "I'm right here."

"No, you're -"

Her lips touched his. He forgot everything, caught up in her taste, the familiar press of her lips on his. All questions of reality faded from his mind as he drew her closer to him. He needed this.

Off in the distance, the cracks on the door grew wider.

* * *

"The energy readings are getting stronger." Mickey let himself into Jack's office without knocking again.

Jack drummed on his desk with his fingertips, his eyes locked on the screens in front of him. "I noticed. That must mean that the empaths are getting closer to achieving their goal. The more they break into the mind of their quarry, the stronger the readings will be."

Mickey came up closer to the screens. "Well, that's good, isn't it? This means we can narrow down our search to a specific area now, can't we? And it looks like they're coming from an area near Cardiff."

"It's good in a way." Jack stood up and put on his trench coat. "At least we can be ready to go when we get a more accurate lock on our target."

Mickey could tell there was something the other man wasn't telling him. The tense set of his jaw and shoulders was enough to worry anyone in Torchwood. "What's wrong?"

"Come on, Mickey." Jack clapped a hand on his shoulder and exited the office.

The other man had no choice but to tag along as Jack began to bark orders about what they needed to take when they left Torchwood. He finished off his list with, "And be ready to leave at a minute's notice. When we get a lock on the target, we have to get there as soon as possible, got that?"

The others murmured their understanding and got to work gathering supplies. Mickey was not so easily distracted. "Jack, what's wrong? Why do we have to get there so soon?"

The captain sighed, his eyes refusing to meet the other man's. "Because in order to get an accurate lock, we're going to have to let them break into that man's mind. And once they do that...I have no idea what state he'll be in."

* * *

Every time Martha's phone rang, Amy's eyes locked on her. Since the woman was highly ranked in UNIT, she was called often, but Amy couldn't help but watch to see if there would be some development in Rory's situation.

The Doctor had long ago lost them in one of his excited rambles about some alien gadget. Now he was running his screwdriver over the device and chattering as it picked up a new reading.

Martha's phone buzzed again. "Hello?...What?"

Amy sat up a little straighter. There was something different about the doctor's tone this time around. Her concern increased as Martha's worried eyes unconsciously met hers.

"And there's no other way?...Are you sure?"

Amy got up and made her way over to the Doctor's side. Her hand fisted in the back of his coat, grounding her and assuring her that he was still there. By the look on Martha's face, Amy could tell she was going to need all of the support she could get.

"What's the matter, Pond?" The Doctor turned to her, shutting off his screwdriver.

Martha hung up her phone and stared at it.

"What is it? What's the matter?"

The other woman cleared her throat. "Jack will be able to save your husband."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Amy glanced between the two of them. "Isn't it?"

The Doctor's face grew solemn. "They're going to break into his mind."

Martha nodded. "And I'm afraid we cannot guarantee his recovery."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who_.

* * *

"What do you mean 'break into his mind'? Are you saying that whatever these empaths are doing to Rory is going to affect the way that he processes things?" In a few seconds, Amy had gone from sheer relief about her husband being rescued to panic over what he would be like after. "Why can't we rescue him now, before they have a chance to get what they want?"

Martha's gaze was sympathetic. "They can't get a lock on his position otherwise. And we don't know for certain what effect this will leave on his mind - he could make a full recovery, but the human mind is so fragile, I'm not sure what will happen."

Amy turned. "Doctor?"

The Doctor paced back and forth slowly, tapping his screwdriver against his lower lip. If his furrowed brow was any indication, he was trying to come up with a solution to this mess. "On any other person - unless they were incredibly unstable - I'd say we'd be able to repair whatever damage the Eronians caused."

"But -" Amy prompted.

The Doctor's face paled. He slapped his forehead, once, twice. "I'm so stupid! _Stupid!_"

"What?!" Both women cried.

He turned and put a hand on one of each of their shoulders, but his focus was mainly on Amy. "We've been looking at this all wrong - they're not after me or information on me that he might have. They want _him_..._his memories._ He's got the whole history of the world trapped in that beautiful brain of his - 2000 years worth!"

"But..." Amy got a sinking feeling in her stomach. "But he said he couldn't remember any of it."

"I'm afraid that's not quite true. He can remember snippets - he once told me he'd locked many of the memories behind a door in his mind. At the time I thought he meant it metaphorically, but there could quite literally be a door in his mind that the Eronians want to open. Technically, he's got more memories than I do and if he opens that door, who knows what that might do to the state of his mind -"

"Doctor!" Martha interrupted him sharply. Her attention focused on Amy, who was now quite pale and looked like she was about to collapse. The other woman took hold of her by the upper arms and led her over to a chair, gently pushing her down into it. "Are you alright?"

Amy's eyes blurred with tears. "All this time...he never told me. He said he didn't remember...it didn't affect him."

"He didn't want to hurt you." The Doctor knelt in front of her.

"He should have told me."

"Well," the Doctor gave her a small smile, "when you have that many memories bouncing around in your head, you do what you can to prevent your loved ones from seeing how much it impacts you."

And that would be just what Rory would do - hide away all of that pain and sorrow, act like everything was fine so that she could be happy. Amy closed her eyes. _You and I are going to have a long talk when we get home, Mr. Williams._

Martha started talking again. "Jack is going to move out as soon as they have a lock. They'll get him out of there as quickly as they can."

Amy felt sick, her stomach doing loops and twisting into knots. "But he may be permanently damaged."

"Listen, Pond," the Doctor pressed his forehead against hers the way he only did when he had something of great importance to get across to her. "Rory is one of the strongest people I know - if there's anyone who can make a full recovery, it's him. I _will not_ give up on him. I will help him for as long as he needs my help. But I can only do so much - he needs you. He's going to need your help to bring him back from whatever place he's lost in. Can you do that?"

"I'm his wife," her lips trembled as she spoke, but her voice came out strong. "I promised I would be there for him and that is a promise I will not break."

"Good." He gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead. "Then we have nothing to worry about."

* * *

Rory could feel his mind splintering even now when he was awake. Scattered conversations with people long dead flashed through his memories along with faces that he thought he'd forgotten. He found it difficult to concentrate on Ava as she adjusted some of the silver straps around his head.

_Shock. I'm going into shock, _he thought. And that was probably partially true, but he knew that the physical state of his body was only an echo of his mental state.

"There now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Ava started talking again. "You have a lovely wife, you should be grateful we let you spend some time with her."

"She wasn't real." He felt a tear slip down his cheek, much to his chagrin.

"Oh, but she was." Ava caught the tear on her fingertip and held it up to the light. "Perfectly reconstructed from your memories of her. Real enough to make you cry."

"Please don't do this. You have no idea what you're getting into."

She wrapped her fingers around his forearms and smiled. "You have memories of over 2,000 years of history running through your mind. Maybe you didn't move around much, but we can still utilize what you did encounter. You see, we're not just empaths, Mr. Williams, we're time travelers, and we're looking to shape the future of your world. We'll find a weak point in history and take over the people there -"

"And you'll start controlling people's minds so that they do what you want them to do," he finished, more and more horrified at the words coming out of her mouth.

She smiled wider. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for. And you have no idea what a windfall you are. We thought about taking the Doctor, but everybody knows you can't just break into the mind of a timelord. But you -" she brushed her fingers across his cheeks again and he was surprised to find that he was still crying, " - you are so fragile. Your poor human heart with all of its desires, fears, and anger. You are more than I could have wished for. You've surprised me too. I didn't realize just how much you have been through, but I guess that's what happens when you travel with the Doctor."

Rory swallowed. "You can't do this, surely you must see that. By changing humanity's future, you won't just change our timeline, you'll change your own."

"That's precisely the point. Empaths have been shunned, mocked, and cast aside for centuries. It is time for us to have a proper place in society."

Rory reached for the last straw in his arsenal. "Then talk to the Doctor. He can help you. He can give you a place of your own where your people can flourish unhindered."

She finally back away from him. "I can see why your wife loves you so much - you have a compassionate heart. But I'm afraid that compassion never got us far. It only seemed to hurt us and, I'm afraid, it's only going to hurt you too."

"Ava -"

She was already heading towards the door. "Welcome to stage five, Mr. Williams."

He tried to keep his eyes open, tried to fight against his restraints, but he blinked once and he was standing on Appalapachia with the Doctor.

"Rory? _Rory!_ Are you listening to me?"

"What? What's the matter?" He turned to face the Doctor and his heart sank when he saw the expression on the alien's face. It was an expression he used only when he had something particularly bad to say.

"We have to leave them, Rory."

"Them? Leave who?"

The Doctor pointed to the magnifying glass on the table. Though he didn't want to see what was on the other side, he forced himself to take a step closer and peer inside.

Amy and River were there.

"What - _how?_ We've got to get them out! Amy! River!"

Amy's beautiful eyes glistened. She couldn't seem to get the words out, so River stepped up beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm afraid you can't get us out."

"What do you mean? I can go in - just like last time -"

River shook her head. "There is no way in this time. This time-stream has been completely sealed off."

"That's not possible!" He ran for the door to the room where the TARDIS was located and tried to find the red button. It was no longer there. Panic seized him. He rushed back into the room.

The Doctor leaned against one of the walls, his arms crossed in front of his chest. The grim look on his face was frightening in its intensity.

Rory went back over to the glass. It was a shock to see that Amy already looked a few years older but River...

"Doctor, why does River look younger?"

His daughter spoke up before the alien could explain. "We're heading forwards in time, a natural progression, which means that while Amy is aging...I'm growing younger. Eventually, I will be nothing more than a child, an infant in fact, I - "

"No, that's not possible - it's not!"

"Rory!" Amy finally spoke up, getting close to the magnifying glass. "Calm down, it's alright."

"No, it's not alright!" He punched the table. "You're my family, I'm not just going to sit here and watch you die!"

"I wouldn't ask you to. Go with the Doctor. He'll take you home."

He reached up and touched the glass, his fingertips exactly matching where hers were. "I don't have a home without you. What would I do without my girls?"

"Dad, don't do this to yourself." The lines on River's face were fading. "Just leave, it's not like we have an excruciating death awaiting us."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Rory -" this time it was the Doctor who spoke.

"Shut up!" He turned to face the alien. "They're all I have and I am not leaving them. Maybe it's easier for you to run away from your problems, but I can't do that, not to the people who matter most to me."

The Doctor looked pained.

Rory took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's okay."

"Rory," a voice croaked from the magnifying glass.

He whirled. Horror seized him when he saw the old face peering back at him. He'd only looked away for a couple of seconds! How could Amy have aged so quickly? He stumbled over to the glass, trying to keep the tears in check, but failing miserably.

This Amy was even older than the one he had met on this planet the first time. Her hair was completely silver and soft wrinkles lined every part of her face, still she managed a small smile for him. "You know...we never got to spend much time with our baby. She's so beautiful."

She held something up in her fragile, trembling hands.

Rory gasped as he recognized the little face peering up at him from the bundle of clothes Amy had her wrapped in: his little daughter, his Melody. "That's...she's..."

"I wish you could be here...just to hold her again..."

"Oh, Amy." He leaned his forehead against the cool glass. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Rory, it's alright. I just...need to...lie down for a bit." Amy looked so tired, her thin arms struggling to keep hold of the infant in her arms.

"Amy!"

She dropped out of view.

"_Amy!_"

A few minutes passed.

Melody started crying.

"No, no. It's okay, little one, it's -" his voice broke as the infant's cries began to die down. "Melody? Please don't...let me know you're still there...please..."

The infant's cries stopped.

"I can't...I..." He couldn't catch a glimpse of them in the glass and now he wasn't even sure he wanted to. Anger rushed through him. He seized the magnifying glass and threw it against the wall.

The sound of breaking glass matched the shattering of his heart.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who._

* * *

"He broke the wall," Agent Cartwell reported. He needn't have done so, judging by the triumphant smile on Ava's face.

"Come along then," she said, heading towards the door. "Let's see what he's been keeping behind that door."

Agent Cartwell knew something was wrong as they approached the room Rory was in. The air felt heavy and even through the thickness of the walls and door, he could hear the man screaming. They paused outside of the door as Ava punched in the key code. He shot her a glance. "Are you certain this is safe?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh don't tell me his little doom and gloom story has frightened you? They're just memories. They can't hurt us."

The door opened and both of them flew backwards.

"What is it?" screamed Cartwell. "Does he have some special power that we didn't know about?"

"No, you idiot!" Ava clutched at her head. "It's his memories bombarding us - they're coming out too quickly!"

She staggered to her feet. Each step she took weighed on her more heavily as she came closer to the source - the man was still screaming, writhing in his restraints enough to make his skin chafe and bleed.

"Mr. Williams! Concentrate!" She fell down at his feet, unable to stand under the onslaught of his thoughts. One of her hands clutched his as she directed her thoughts into his brain, trying to control the memories streaming out.

Hundreds of years flooded her mind - glimpses of people, places, times long past, but all of them sweeping past her too fast for her to grasp. She struggled to hold onto one time period, but as soon as she grasped onto one, it was like trying to hold a small piece of concrete as a dam against a flood.

She shrieked as his thoughts began to overwhelm her. They tore at her own memories, sweeping away her life before the chaos of 2,000 years of living. "Stop it! _Stop it!_"

She couldn't let go of his hand. His memories continued to assault her as she struggled to get free. It was no use. Her struggles became weaker as she sank to the floor, her fingers entwined with his.

Rory kept screaming.

* * *

Jack's eyes widened as he saw the energy spike exponentially on his monitors. The grid tracking where the signal had come from suddenly narrowed down to a specific address. He jotted it down as Mickey burst into the room.

"Did you see it?!"

"How could I miss it?" He snapped. "The whole screen's gone haywire. This is a much stronger signal than I was anticipating. This should not be possible."

Mickey frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means this man is letting out his memories too fast - we gotta move before his whole mind collapses." Jack darted past the other man, heading for the door of the Torchwood compound. "Are Gwen and Ianto in the van?"

"Yes!" Mickey called as he tried to keep up with the Captain's long strides. "They have been since you told us to get ready to leave."

"Good." Jack glanced as the address in his hand. "Fortunately, we're not far."

They jumped into the van waiting just outside. Gwen sat behind the wheel, her eyebrow cocked expectantly.

Jack rattled off the address. "Drive as fast as you dare, Gwen, or we may not get there in time."

* * *

Martha's phone chirped.

Both Amy and the Doctor turned to her as she answered it. A bright smile lit up her face. "You did? That's wonderful!"

Amy's initial sense of relief faded as Martha's expression darkened. "What? What is it? What's wrong?"

Martha held up a finger to stop her barrage of questions. "I understand...Tell Jack to bring him here as soon as you retrieve him...We'll prepare a room for him...Bye."

Amy opened her mouth to repeat her questions, but the Doctor put his hand on her shoulder. She stilled.

Martha glanced between the two of them, but her gaze settled on the Doctor. "I don't know much about empaths, but you do. Jack says the energy readings are off the chart right now - which has helped them pinpoint the location, but it's already starting to die down. What does that mean?"

Amy looked behind her.

The Doctor's expression was grim. "He's lost control. They haven't just broken into his mind, they've -"

"They've what?" Amy clutched at his hand until he winced from the pressure.

"Amy, humans can't have 2,000 years worth of memories. It's not possible. That's why Rory sealed them away. But the Eronians have broken into that barrier - they've unleashed all 2,000 years at once. They must have thought they could leisurely pick through hundreds of years at a time, but they can't retain them all at once, they're escaping in one big rush."

"And what does that mean for Rory?"

The Doctor rubbed her knuckles with his thumb, but his gesture did little to hide the concern on his face. "I'm not sure."

* * *

The building that Jack and his crew pulled in front of was nondescript - a typical office building with only five floors. As he and the others jumped out of the van and readied their stun guns, he couldn't help but quip, "At least it's not a warehouse."

"Tell me about it." Mickey slid a bag of medical supplies over his shoulder. "I've seen enough spooky warehouses to last me for a lifetime."

"Alright, I'll go in first; Gwen, Ianto, you cover the sides; Mickey, bring up the rear. Keep your guard up at all times - just because they're empaths does not mean they don't know how to use weapons. Keep a close watch on your thoughts as well - I wouldn't be surprised if they can manipulate our emotions even from a distance." Jack checked the ammunition on his gun for the third time in as many minutes. Something about this entire situation was highly unsettling. "Alright, let's move in."

He went for the front doors and kicked them in, swinging his gun around to all of the corners to make certain they would not be ambushed. His team came in behind him, keeping close. The front was a bland grey, with a typical reception desk and waiting area. Nothing unusual except for the lack of any company logo and personnel. There was a door at the back of the room.

Jack moved towards this. A solid kick to the middle had it opening without protest and they entered a short hall that led to some elevators and another doorway labeled "Stairs."

"Alright, everybody, we're going to take the stairs. I'm not going to risk getting stuck on the elevator. We're going to clear every floor, okay? Check every room, every closet, every cupboard. We don't know what we're dealing with, so use every precaution."

As they made their way up the staircase, Jack couldn't help the unsettled sensation growing in his mind. This place was far too _quiet_ and they hadn't exactly been subtle when they entered. One would think there would be at least a few guards coming to investigate.

They reached the first landing. He glanced back. All three of his companions gave a short nod.

He stepped up and opened the door a crack, carefully scanning the bright pink hallway that presented itself. It was empty.

He opened the door all of the way and ventured out into the hall. There were no doors, just other halls branching off of this one, each a different color.

"We could -" Ianto piped up.

"No, we're not splitting up. That is _never_ a good idea. Don't you watch your horror movies?" Jack moved forward down the pink hall. "We'll just have to take this slowly."

They moved into a green hall, then orange, then pale yellow and never once did they encounter a single person. In fact, the whole compound was eerily quiet.

"Where is everyone?" Gwen whispered.

"I'm not sure." Jack took a second to look at the monitor he'd strapped to his belt earlier. "The signals died down though. It's still there, but getting fainter by the minute."

"Wait, look!" Mickey pointed down a red hall that branched off to their right.

They all followed the direction his finger pointed and saw two forms slumped on the ground.

Jack ran forward. As he got closer, he saw that they were humans - or at least, looked like humans. He knelt next to them and put a finger to the throat of one of them. "Dead."

There was no need to check the other one. The open, empty eyes were a giveaway.

"Alright." Jack rose from his crouch, more puzzled than ever. He glanced at the end of the hall where there was another doorway marked "Stairs." "Let's go up to the second floor and see what we can see."

"This place is so strange," Gwen commented as they made their way up the stairs. "There's no people - aside from the dead ones - no doors, no windows. What is this place?"

Jack's monitor beeped. He pulled it off of his belt. "The signal's getting stronger. We might be getting closer to...what is his name, anyway?"

"Rory Williams," Mickey supplied.

"Thank you. Nothing quite like telling a guy you're trying to rescue that you can't even be bothered to know his name." He paused at the landing of the second floor and scrutinized his monitor. "You know what? Let's see if the signal gets stronger if we keep going up."

"I thought you said earlier that it was fading," Ianto said.

"Well it is, but even a fading signal gets stronger the closer you get to its source. Aha!" Jack's smile broadened as he picked up more of a signal on the third floor. "Alright. Let's try one more floor."

But almost as soon as he passed the third floor, the signal began to die out. "Nope, turn around, back on the third floor."

They entered into another series of brightly colored hallways. This time, there were more people, but that was hardly an encouraging sign since they all appeared to be dead.

Gwen crouched next to one of the bodies and examined it closely. "I don't understand. There are no wounds, nothing to indicate any injury received, what could inflict such a scale of death without leaving a trace?"

"All the things coming to my mind are none too pleasant. Come on, we need to trace the signal." Jack moved briskly down the hall. Now that there seemed to be little danger of being accosted, he abandoned much of his caution and kept his eyes on the monitor.

The colors on the walls began to fade into a bland white the closer they got to their destination.

For a moment,, he caught the sound of something else. He held up a hand and they all came to a halt, listening.

Someone was crying.

Jack followed the sound, edging around a corner slowly. Out in the hall was the body of another man, but in front of him was the first open doorway that they had seen in this building.

He crept up to the door and peered into the room.

A woman lay dead on the floor, her hand clutching the hand of a man who was cruelly strapped to a chair - the only piece of furniture in the area. It was the man who cried.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who_.

* * *

Jack lowered his gun as he stepped into the room. He didn't feel quite safe enough to put it away entirely, but he didn't want to frighten the poor man any more than he already was.

The man, from what he could see under the metal contraption over his face, was young. His battered form testified that his captors had been none too gentle and if the blood leaking out from under his bonds was any indication, he'd often struggled and failed to get free.

Jack gestured for his team to stay back in the doorway as he approached the captive - who had yet to realize there was anyone else in the room. "Rory Williams?"

Startled blue-grey eyes flew open. A stream of panicked words flew out of his mouth, "Go _away_. Didn't I give you what you wanted? Why won't you leave me alone? I don't have anything else. I can't answer any more of your stupid questions, just leave me alone."

The rest of his words were lost in a slurred mumble as the man fought to stay conscious. Jack slowly lowered his gun to the floor and kicked it behind him to his team. "It's alright, Mr. Williams, we're the good guys. We're here to rescue you. Look. See? No weapons."

The captive man blinked lethargically at him, as if he had a hard time concentrating on anything.

"I'm going to see if I can get these restraints off, okay?" Jack moved slowly so that Rory would be able to track every moment. It hardly helped though, when the captain realized he'd have to stand behind the man to release him from the head restraint.

Rory's breathing hitched as Jack began to mess with the buttons on the back of his chair. Fortunately, there weren't many choices to pick from and after selecting a couple of buttons that did absolutely nothing, Jack hit one that caused the metal mask to detach itself from the chair. He came back around to the front again. "I'm going to pull the mask off now, okay?"

Rory didn't make a sound, but his eyes clearly said that he did not trust him.

Jack gently pried the slender parts of the contraption off of Rory's jaw first and worked his way up from there. A couple of times, the delicate metal simply snapped beneath his fingers, causing the captive to flinch, but eventually he got the whole contraption off.

Shaggy blond hair flopped over Rory's forehead now that it was no longer held back by metal. The prongs left small red impressions on his skin, but they were already starting to fade.

"No permanent damage," Jack grinned. "And I'm pretty sure your evil brother didn't put you in here, so we're good there too."

Faint confusion flickered through those wary, cloudy blue eyes.

"Man in the Iron Mask? No?"

"Jack," Gwen hissed from the doorway.

"Right. Let's get you out of here." Jack examined the restraints, wincing at the blood that clotted around the man's wrists. The first thing he dealt with was the woman's hand that Rory still clutched. It took some coaxing, but he finally let go and Jack was able to drag the woman a safe distance away. A quick search around the chair and room revealed no way to release the restraints. He paused in front of the captive again. "I don't suppose you know how to get those off?"

Rory blinked at him. He looked as if he had a hard time focusing on his surroundings, but any sudden movements had him flinching.

"Jack!" Mickey called.

He turned and caught the small laser penknife the man tossed at him. "Perfect. Alright, Mr. Williams. Hold still and we'll have you out of there in no time."

As he bent to start on the ankle restraints, he caught a glimpse of the ugly burn, bullet, and stab wounds. He had been so focused on getting Rory out of the contraption he hadn't even noticed the other man was injured. "Mickey, we're going to need that med kit. Can you start prepping some antiseptic and bandages?"

"Yes sir."

He got the ankle and thigh restraints off without any difficulty. As he moved to the wrist and elbow restraints though, he could see that Rory watched him closely. It unnerved him that the man hadn't spoken since their initial encounter. The sudden intense focus had Jack on edge now - injured and frightened people could often be more dangerous than an armed soldier. He started talking again, hoping that his words would get through to the man. "We're almost done, almost out of here. We're going to get you medical attention, you'll go back to your wife...what's her name?"

The last question was hissed back to his crew. Mickey responded, a little too sharply, "Amy."

"Ah yes, Amy." He turned back to undo the last restraint and saw that this had been the exact wrong thing to say.

Rory's expression - so blank before - now filled with a devastating mixture of sorrow, anger, and pain. "What do you want with her? Why can't you leave her alone? She never did anything to you."

"We haven't hurt her. She's safe. She's waiting for you." At that moment, the last band popped off.

With more strength and speed than Jack expected from an injured, half-starved man, Rory lurched upright, punched him in the face, and darted over to the corner despite his terrible limp.

Jack sat up and rubbed his chin with one hand while he held out the other one to keep his crew from coming into the room. "It's alright, I've had worse. Who knows what they've been twisting his mind to believe about his wife?"

He got up slowly.

Rory crouched in the corner, trembling hands covering his face, his bad leg stretched out in front of him. Though the man had been captive for only five days, the lack of nutrition showed in his skin that stretched tight over his ribs.

"Mr. Williams."

The form went absolutely rigid.

"Rory," Jack said, softer.

The trembling eased a bit.

"We're here to help you, but you have to let us, okay?"

* * *

Reality, if it _was_ reality, looked blurred around the edges. Too bright and sharp in the center, but indistinct everywhere else. Rory could barely understand what the man was saying to him. All he understood was that the man was helping him out of the chair, talking kindly to him, mentioning Amy - it must be another dream. This time painted to look like the real world so that he could hope he was rescued when he really wasn't.

The pain felt real enough. Even now he regretted moving as much as he did, the sharp pangs that gripped his chest and leg were enough to steal his breath away. Still, dream or not, it was better than sitting in that chair. If he could only stop shaking.

His mind felt fractured. He could remember everything and nothing. His thoughts and memories pulsed and surged like the tide. Hundreds of events he'd been a part of pushed to the forefront of his mind and then faded away until he forgot where he was or even _who_ he was. Then it'd repeat in a vicious cycle that made him want to rip his hair out.

His fingers dug into his scalp as if he could dig far enough inside to reach the brain that tormented him with relentless fervor.

"Hey." The voice sounded sharp, gave him something to focus on.

The man with the bright eyes was still there, just looking at him. "Can you put your hands down for me?"

A part of Rory was deeply amused that he was being treated like a child. The other part, the much larger part, terrified of what would happen if he should let down his guard. He kept his hands clamped to his face, his fingers spread apart just far enough so that he could see what happened around him.

"Rory." The sound of his name warmed him. None of the people here called him Rory - in fact, even in his dreams, only Amy did that. Perhaps they decided to be kind to him. "You're going into shock - you're moving too quickly for your body to keep up with you. Let us help you. We've got a whole staff of nurses and doctors."

He couldn't help the flinch he gave when he heard the word "doctor." Though he knew that none of this was technically the Doctor's fault, he was a convenient target to blame.

Regret filled him for thinking of the Doctor as the mere consideration of the alien brought another wave of memories with it. He could see whole civilizations rising and falling, friends that he had briefly met growing old and dying before his eyes. Or, worse yet, dying young when there was nothing he could do about it. He saw moments when he thought the Pandorica was taken - lost from him forever - and felt the pain of losing Amy and being stuck forever as an automaton fester in his heart. And then Amy was dying in front of him again - her face old and their child wailing in her arms.

He thought he heard shouting, but he couldn't distinguish whether they were real or fiction. When darkness finally came, he did not fight it.

* * *

When Martha's face broke into a bright smile after she answered her phone, Amy felt herself relax for the first time in several days. The Doctor offered her a small smile and a pat on the shoulder, as if he had known all along that this would be the outcome.

Martha hung up and turned to them. "They have him. He's still alive, but seems to be showing signs of shock."

"Is he alright?" Amy asked.

Martha's smile dimmed a bit. "I'm afraid they were not kind to him - he has some injuries that need immediate medical attention. But don't worry, we have some of the most advance medical equipment on earth, he'll be well looked after."

Amy breathed a sigh of relief. Her legs felt shaky from the leftover adrenaline. "Okay...I think I'm...going to get some fresh air. You'll let me know when he gets here, right?"

"Of course." Martha watched her go.

The Doctor studied her expression carefully. "There's something else that you're not telling her."

She turned to face him, eyes grim. "Jack couldn't get Rory to respond to him. He seems to be trapped in some sort of trancelike state. He has moments of lucidity, but they're getting more infrequent. Jack ended up sedating him when he started screaming."

The Doctor's expression grew darker with every word Martha spoke. When she'd finished, he pressed his lips into a thin line. "This is not going to be an easy recovery. It sounds like they were able to wreck more havoc with Rory's mind than I first thought. I've been able to help victims of empathetic attacks before, but none of them had 2,000 years worth of memories locked inside their heads."

"Can you help him?" Martha asked.

"I hope so, but I honestly don't know."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who_.

* * *

Jack and Ianto managed to get Rory's unconscious frame onto a stretcher and then loaded into their van. Once they got him settled enough to where he wouldn't slide around, Gwen and Mickey sat beside him and began tending to his wounds as best as they could.

Jack made certain to drive slowly. "How bad are his injuries?"

"The bullet went straight through, so we don't need to worry about trying to dig it out. The knife wound is also not too bad - I think both wounds have been left to bleed for too long though. He may need a blood transfusion." Gwen bent close to Rory's side to examine the strange burn that crept around his whole left ribcage and waist. "I have no idea what this burn is. I hope Martha can identify what caused it."

"She's one of the best - I'm sure she'll at least be able to treat it even if she can't heal it completely," Mickey said.

"I'm more concerned about the state of his mind." Jack glanced back in the rearview mirror. He still couldn't get Rory's scream out of his mind when the man had ceased to listen to him and got trapped under the pressure of his own thoughts. "Who knows what those empaths did."

"The Doctor will be able to help. The Doctor always helps." Mickey stared at the nearly catatonic man.

None of them were brave enough to say that they thought Rory was too far gone for the Doctor to be of any use.

* * *

Amy could tell the Doctor was trying to keep her distracted. She knew that he and Martha decided that it would be beneficial if she were not present when her husband arrived since he was probably injured. But despite the Doctor's valiant attempts to keep her away from Martha, Amy stuck close to the woman. She was tired of other people deciding what was good for her and even if Daleks tried to stage an invasion right now, nothing was going to keep her from her husband.

"Amy!" The Doctor grinned at her. "Don't you want to see UNIT's collection of Cyclops stones from Mantes? They're the most brilliant shade of blue that you have ever seen. Isn't that right, Martha?"

"Oh yes, Doctor, of course!" Martha nervously agreed. Her eyes kept darting from the entrance to UNIT's headquarters back to the Doctor and Amy as if to say, _Hurry up and get her out of here._

Amy settled further into her chair. Rory must be close. "I'm not going anywhere. Do you honestly think I want to see baubles from other planets _now_ when Rory could be gravely hurt?"

The Doctor looked at Martha and sighed, dropping all pretenses. "I suppose you're right. It's no use, Martha. I could no more keep her from Rory than I could keep you from Mickey were your positions reversed."

Martha's phone beeped. She glanced at it. "Well, if you put it that way, I can't help but agree. Jack's pulling up now. Just try not to get in the way, alright?"

"I won't hinder my husband from receiving medical care." Amy followed Martha to the front of the large UNIT parking area, where a team of medical staff were already waiting. The entrance opened out onto the back streets of an isolated part of the town, out of sight from the public eye.

A van sped towards them, only slowing down as it reached the threshold and then screeched to a stop. The medical team swarmed to the back of the van and Amy allowed herself to be carried along with the general push.

A man wearing a trenchcoat jumped out of the driver's seat and joined them at the back. "Allow me, ladies and gents. This door gets stuck sometimes and needs some gentle loving."

He hit the door in a couple of places before he twisted the handle and jerked it open. Another man and a woman waited inside with a stretcher. The woman glanced at them. "I think he's coming around. You might want to prepare a sedative."

Amy's heart pounded as she stood on tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse of her husband. The two people inside the van pushed the stretcher out into the waiting hands of the medical staff. As they extended the wheels underneath the stretcher, she got her first look at Rory's pale, bruised face.

His eyelashes fluttered as he started to come around. Soft blue eyes shot open and stared at the faces surrounding him. A stream of increasingly panicked words left his mouth, "I don't know what you want, I never did! The box is in my keeping, get back, get back, get BACK!"

Martha was already preparing a syringe.

"Wait!" Amy laid a hand on her arm. "Can I try talking to him? It might calm him down."

The other woman looked unsure, but she nodded and motioned for her staff to back up to give them room.

Amy stepped up next to the stretcher. Rory's eyes wandered all over the place, not focusing on anything in particular. His breathing grew more labored and she had to fight back tears when she saw his injuries. Slowly and gently, so as not to startle him, she put her hands on either side of his face and directed his gaze to her. "Rory, look at me. It's me, it's your Amy. You're alright. We got you out."

He blinked rapidly, as if her couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. But the stream of words ceased.

"That's it. You're alright. I'm here and I'm not going to leave you."

"Amy," he breathed. His hands jerked at the ties holding him down to the stretcher. The motion caused another flare of panic to cross his face.

"It's okay." She brushed his hair back from his forehead. "You're on a stretcher - you know what that is. You can't move because you're secured to the stretcher."

"Amy," he said again, his eyes filling with tears. "You...River..."

"She's not here. I can have the Doctor track her down if you'd like."

He shook his head as best as he could. "No, no. River. You're not here. You're not real."

"Of course I'm real, Rory. You're safe. We got you out. I'm right here."

"No, no, no! You're not real, you're not here, you're fooling me again! I will _not give in_!" The last few words were loud enough to be a scream.

Amy flinched, but did not back away, even as the UNIT staff stirred, ready with their syringes. "Listen to me, Mr. Pond, you are the man who waited 2,000 years for me, I tore time apart for you, we have a daughter who is currently older than we are at the moment, and you should know by now when I'm real and when I'm not, considering I have been a flesh copy of myself before."

Who knew what she sounded like at the moment? For anyone who had not traveled with the Doctor before, that probably made no sense, but glancing up at Martha, she saw the other woman give an encouraging nod.

More importantly, Rory stilled under her touch. "What did you call me?"

She smiled. "I know you don't like it, but sometimes I can't help but call you Mr. Pond."

"Amy," he sighed, eyes shining with relief. "They never...never used that one."

Amy bit her lip. She didn't know who _they_ were, but she got the impression that they had been using her against her husband. If _they_ were still alive, she was going to have a little _talk_ with them. For now she focused on the trembling man beneath her hands. "It's alright, Rory, I'm here. You're safe. We're going to get you help."

"Amy." His eyes scrunched close, this time in pain. "There's too much in my head...I can't...I can't focus...there's so many _people_...so much _pain_."

"I know." But she didn't know. She couldn't imagine how much he'd seen and how long he'd hidden it away from her. _Sometimes you catch him staring_, the Doctor's words, spoken what seemed so long ago, came back to her. "Oh Rory, why didn't you let me know? I could have helped you, you know I could have."

"S-Sorry," he stuttered. His hands clenched down painfully on the stretcher, back arching as much as it could. "I c-can't...Amy!"

"What's wrong?"

He twisted his face out of her hands. Sweat ran down his temples as his breathing increased. Teeth tore at his lips to prevent himself from screaming, but it did no good. A hoarse cry escaped him, followed by a deafening scream. "Get back! _Get back!_ I won't...give you...what you want!"

Martha jumped into action, emptying a syringe into his neck. "I'm sorry, Amy, but he's going to injure himself if we let him go on like this."

She nodded, eyes locked on her gasping husband, who was starting to lose consciousness. His eyes drifted to her one last time before they closed. "I'm so sorry, Rory."

"Doctor?" Martha called.

Warm hands descended on her shoulders, long fingers she recognized. As the UNIT staff wheeled her husband away to a medical facility, she turned and buried her face in the Doctor's shoulder. "Why is it always him, Doctor? Why does he have to suffer so much?"

"I don't know." He tightened his hold on her and kissed her forehead. "I don't know."


End file.
